Stade Français No.8 Parisse, who has 91 caps to his name, will continue to lead the side, having first taken the captaincy back in 2008.

The squad will get together on January 20 for a training camp in Rome, with French head coach Brunel sticking with 27 players who featured last November.

The three newcomers are Paul Derbyshire and Gonzalo Garcia, who both last appeared in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, and Zebre winger Paolo Buso, who will get the chance to add to a solitary cap won back in 2008.

The Azzurri will be looking to build on last year’s fifth-place finish where they downed Scotland 13-6 in their final game of the tournament.

Italy squad for the first two matches of the RBS 6 Nations

Forwards: Martin Castrogiovanni, Lorenzo Cittadini, Alberto De Marchi, Andrea Lo Cicero, Michele Rizzo, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Davide Giazzon, Joshua Furno, Quintin Geldenhuys, Francesco Minto, Antonio Pavanello, Robert Barbieri, Paul Derbyshire, Simone Favaro, Sergio Parisse, Manoa Vosawai, Alessandro Zanni

Backs: Tobias Botes, Edoardo Gori, Kris Burton, Luciano Orquera, Tommaso Benvenuti, Paolo Buso, Gonzalo Canale, Gonzalo Garcia, Tommaso Iannone, Andrea Masi, Luke McLean, Alberto Sgarbi, Giovanbattista Venditti